''Sterculia colorata'', the scarlet sterculia (also known as bonfire tree, colored sterculia and Indian almond, in Assamese ওদাল (odal) and in Marathi known as "कौशी" aushi, is a medium-sized tree with spreading

branches A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includi ...

. It sheds leaves before the onset of flowering. After leaf-shedding,

bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

s sprout and develop into

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s. The tree flowers from March to April. The genus '' Sterculia'' was named after the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

god '' Sterculius''. Stercus means dung. This name was given to this genus because of the foul-smelling flowers and leaves of some ''Sterculia'' species. It produces flowers in short dense

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s which occur at the ends of the branches. The flowers are orange-

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

in colour and hang downwards. The flowering stalks together with flowers are covered with fine downy hairs giving the whole inflorescence a soft, velvety look. During flowering phase, the Scarlet Sterculia is quite prominent and presents a brilliant sight because of its orange-red flowers against a leafless state. The flowers are large, 30 mm long. The flower tube is 13 mm long, tubular at the base and lobed at the tip. Its rim is surrounded by white soft hair. The corolla looks like it is united inside with the tubular

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

at the base. From the centre of the calyx tube, a staminal column protrudes bearing at its summit 30 anthers. Scarlet sterculia is common in the forests of the Western Ghats and the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

References

Flowers of India - Scarlet Sterculia

Zip Code Zoo - Scarlet Sterculia

Bihrmann - Scarlet Sterculia

Slice of the Day - Scarlet Sterculia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q24853240 colorata Flora of China Flora of tropical Asia